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Posts Tagged: myth
January 11, 2010
Kokopelli
The earliest images of the ancient fertility deity known to this day as Kokopelli appeared as early as AD 750 and AD 850. The Hopi Indians – a Native American people who originally roamed freely in the southwestern region of the country now called America and now live on a small reservation in in northeastern Arizona – attached the name “Kokopelli” to their own renditions of the image/symbol of the mystical flute player. The image of flute player himself, however, can be found earlier in ancient Anasazi glyphs. The image/symbol we know as Kokopelli is thousands of years old. Read more…
December 9, 2009
The Truth of Myth
The Truth of Myth
Myth, as defined by Frank S. Frick in “A Journey through the Hebrew Scriptures,” reads as follows:
“…myth makes reference to a story that narrates profound truth in story form, the kind of truth that escapes scientific or historical documentation. In this sense, then, myth provides one of the most penetrating ways of talking about the meaning of life, about the relationships between human beings, and about the relationships between God and persons. Myth is a specialized kind of metaphor, a story about the past that embodies and expresses truths about a people’s traditional culture” (Frank S. Frick, A Journey through the Hebrew Scriptures, A completely rev. and expanded 2nd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, 2003. Page 108.)
Frank S. Frick’s definition is one of the best I have ever encountered. It’s too bad that a proper understanding of myth is not emphasized in contemporary spirituality. A proper understanding of myth would go a long way towards the establishment of a “middle ground” in the present debate regarding science and spirituality. Read more…
October 28, 2009
On Lions and Zebras and Genesis Fall
Garden of Eden
I have contemplated the concept-idea of a “Garden of Eden” for more than a few late nights. The metaphorical center of human beginnings, purity and perfection is an important product of Hebrew myth-making. The Garden is still an important element/idea in many, many movements and expressions that identify as Judeo-Christian. Read more…